NILE RANGER has been given a clear indication of his future with Newcastle United – by being left at home for the Magpies’ tour of Germany and Hungary.

Both Ranger and £5.5m striker Xisco were absent when United’s flight to Germany left Tyneside last night as they embarked on the first leg of their pre-season tour.

The troubled striker still has a court case hanging over his head following an alleged incident in Newcastle city centre last August, and Alan Pardew has opted to leave the former England Under-19 striker behind to train with the reserves.

Ranger has been given plenty of chances by Pardew and former boss Chris Hughton but, despite putting in some decent performances while on loan at Sheffield Wednesday last season in League One, it hasn’t been enough to convince Toon chiefs to trust him to behave on the club’s 10-day stay at their Munich training base.

Spanish flop Xisco was also left to train with Willie Donachie’s second string.

His exclusion is a new low for the ex-Deportivo La Coruna striker, with United currently light on forward cover after the departures of Leon Best to Blackburn Rovers and Peter Lovenkrands’ free transfer to Birmingham City.

It means that Newcastle boss Pardew will stick with Shola Ameobi, Demba Ba and Sammy Ameobi as striking options for tonight’s game with German minnows Chemnitzer, while Haris Vuckic can also offer support as a deep-lying forward.

Having moved Best and Lovenkrands on this summer, Ranger’s place at United has always been vulnerable, and the Magpies are more than willing to cash in on him if the right offer arrives.

Loaning Ranger out when the season begins is also an option, and Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United are both thought to be keen.

The player still has four years left to run on the massive contract United handed to him two seasons ago, but he has a lot of work to do to get back to the promise he once showed in a black-and-white shirt.

Xisco’s future is less complicated with only a year to go on his £50,000-a-week contract, however, and the Magpies have looked at opportunities to get him off the wage bill sooner. The former Spanish Under-21 star wants a move back to Deportivo after spending last season on loan at the Segunda Division promotion winners, but his salary is still the hurdle for any willing takers.

United finally found themselves in a position to confirm their schedule last night with tonight’s game with FC Chemnitzer kicking off at 5.30pm (BST) at the Gellhert Stadium.

Newcastle will then take on Monaco on Monday night (6pm BST) in Landsberg am Lech.

The game against former Chelsea boss Claudio Ranieri’s side takes place at Pschorr Sports Park.

After a series of complications over the Magpies’ third game against Fenerbah&ccedil;e next on Saturday July 21, a venue has been found in Hungary. The game takes place at Stadium Sopron in Sopron a week tomorrow (7pm).

Regardless of the delay in announcing the fixtures, a small band of United followers have still made the trek across Europe to support their team.